The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship
by boysinperil
Summary: Kurt, Puck, Quinn. Not everyone loves Mother's Day. I am completely and unashamedly projecting; hopefully I did it and still stayed IC. Read at your own risk. Angsty, fluffy, pre-slash, definite mommy issues.


It's the first Friday in May. Kurt is in a foul, foul mood and it's only going to get worse. He's not responsible for anything he might say in the next 72 hours, but no one else knows that, or would likely understand it, so he slips his best Ice Prince mask on with his moisturizer and hopes for the best.

School is about as bad as he would expect, although not nearly as bad as it had been in elementary school, when today was all about making fucking macaroni necklaces and handprint coasters. A teacher had forced him through that process once, not listening to his protests, and he had thrown the ball of clay, hard and wet, across the room and broken a projector. Burt had had a talk with the teacher, and Kurt got the rest of the day off. Oh how he would love to be eight again, and to scream and rant and cry and break things without worrying about who he might hurt.

He makes it through to lunch without snapping too badly – until he runs into Puck, who bites his head off for not watching where he's going. Which he _was_, thank you very much, it was Puck who stopped dead in the middle of the cafeteria, and what the hell was his problem _anyway_, and it was _on_. They go from words to yelling to shoving and throwing trays in what seems like .02 seconds but it feels...it feels _good_. It feels _amazing_, in fact - even when he knows he's going to get the crap knocked out of him - to be able to let go of all the emotion he's been holding in.

Finally, Coach Tanaka breaks them apart, and hauls them down to cool off in the nearly empty Nurse's office; Quinn is taking her mid-day nap in one of the cubicles. Kurt's eye is bruising spectacularly, and Puck's lip is split, and suddenly they look at each other and start to laugh, trying to be quiet for Quinn but utterly failing.

"Jesus Christ, Hummel, what the hell was that all about?" Puck asks, wiping his mouth. He can see the moment the mask slips back over Kurt's face.

"Nothing," he says, arms folding over his chest in patented Kurt Hummel Protective Mode.

"Bullshit. You don't yell or pick fights; you try to stay out of stuff like that. Come on."

"You wouldn't understand anyway, so why bother? Let's just say I felt like getting hit and there were no other jocks around and leave it at that, okay?"

"No, not okay! You don't know I wouldn't understand, and damn, you owe me that much for busting my mouth!"

"Fine. If you really must know, I hate this holiday." Kurt is looking at the floor, one hand shielding his eyes.

To his surprise, Puck doesn't say "what holiday" or "why" or anything like that. He sits there a moment, and then nods. "Yeah, I do too."

Kurt's head jerks up. "But you've _got_ a mother. Why in the world would you-"

"Do you think just having one means everything is peaches and roses?" Puck asks. "Yeah, I've got one, but dude, just barely. I've been raising myself AND my sister since I was – damn, since I was at least six. You know who registered Sarah for her first day of school? And who makes her lunch every day? And who-" Puck realizes that he has apparently contracted some horrible strain of verbal diarrhea and snaps his mouth shut. Kurt is looking at him like he has suddenly grown a second head.

"That certainly explains a lot about why you want to be part of our baby's life," says a quiet voice. Both boys jump, having completely forgotten about Quinn.

It's Puck's turn to hide his head in his hands. "I wasn't talking to you; why were you listening?"

Quinn laughs, but it's a sad sound. "I hate this holiday too, you know. My mother kicked me out of my house, and I have a child growing inside of me I may not be able to hold this time next year." Her voice breaks a little, and Kurt reaches out a hand to her. "See," she says "you aren't alone."

"Come on," Kurt says, standing and reaching out to take Puck's hand as well. "Let's blow this joint and go have a decent lunch, then go to my place and watch horribly cheesy movies and things with explosions."

"Are you really suggesting we skip school, Captain Homo?" Puck laughs, but he lets Kurt pull him to his feet.

"I am, and if you keep calling me that I will slug you again," Kurt responds, but he is laughing now too. The three of them slip out of the school and face the rest of the day. Together.


End file.
